Noteworthy

Published 8:53 pm, Sunday, October 27, 2013

Photo: Matthew Stockman

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ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 27: Serena Williams of the United States plays Na Li of China during the final of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships at the Sinan Erdem Dome on October 27, 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 181441821 less

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 27: Serena Williams of the United States plays Na Li of China during the final of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships at the Sinan Erdem Dome on October 27, 2013 in Istanbul, ... more

Photo: Matthew Stockman

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Williams defeats Li, defends WTA crown

ISTANBUL — Serena Williams ended her best season in style, rallying past Li Na 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday for her second straight WTA Championship and 11th title of the year.

She became the first player to successfully defend the WTA title since Justine Henin in 2007.

This was Williams' fourth WTA Championship. She also won the elite tournament of the eight top-ranked players in 2001, 2009 and 2012.

Williams has won 78 of 82 matches this year. She will finish the year as the top-ranked player for the third time, the others in 2002 and 2009.

Li was in her first WTA Championship final and will finish the year at a career-high No. 3.

Auto racing: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel claimed his fourth straight Formula One championship, winning the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday. Vettel joined F1 greats Juan Miguel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships.

Boxing:Bernard Hopkins turned his bout with Karo Murat into a brawl and retained his share of the light heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision Saturday night in Atlantic City, N.J. Hopkins (54-6-2) turned the later rounds into his own personal mission to score his first knockout win since 2004. He battered Murat (25-2-1) for most of the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds.The 48-year-old Hopkins extended his record as the oldest fighter to defend a major championship. He had winning scores of 119-108, 119-108, 117-110.

College football: Baylor climbed to No. 5 in The Associated Press poll, the best ranking for the Bears in 60 years. The top four teams in the rankings all put on impressive displays Saturday and held their spots Sunday. No. 1 Alabama received 55 first-place votes after beating Tennessee 45-10. No. 2 Oregon got three first-place votes following a 42-14 victory against UCLA. No. 3 Florida State pounded North Carolina State 49-17 and drew two first-place votes from the media panel. No. 4 Ohio State handed Penn State its worst loss in more than a century, 63-14. Baylor beat Kansas 59-14 and moved up a spot after Missouri took its first loss. The only higher ranking for the Bears came in November 1953 when they were No. 3.

Skiing: Ted Ligety maintained his dominance in giant slalom by taking the season-opening World Cup race by a 0.79-second winning margin in Soelden, Austria, whileBode Millerfinished 19th upon his return to the circuit following a 20-month injury layoff. Ligety won six of eight races last season and defended his world title in GS.